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Marcell Jacobs, The Washington Post raises doubts about doping: “No one knew him before Tokyo”

«Jacobs deserves the benefit of the doubt, but his sport does not“. Adam Kilgore is a reporter from the Washington Post. He has been involved in sports since the beginning of his career. In 2007 he was also part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for following the Virginia Polytechnic Institute massacre. A few hours after Marcell Jacobs’ victory in the 100 meters race, Kilgore has signed an article that is also bouncing in the Italian press. It is a portrait of Jacobs, who focuses above all on one fact: before the Tokyo race, on an international level, hardly anyone knew who he was.

Only the most ardent track and field followers would have even heard of Jacobs. Bookmakers made him somewhere between an 8-1 and 10-1 long shot. American Fred Kerley, who won silver in a personal-best 9.84 seconds, said of the man who followed Bolt as the champion, “I really didn’t know nothing about him.

Only the most ardent followers of track and field had heard of Jacobs. Bookmakers gave it between 8-1 and 10-1. American Fred Kerley, who won silver with a personal best of 9.84 seconds, said of Bolt’s successor: “I really didn’t know anything about him.”

Jacobs has a recent history in the world of athletics. In 2017 participated in the Indoor European Long Jump Championships. Which, moreover, closed with a 11th place. His first steps in running came in 2018, with the former races on 100 meters. All over ten seconds. The leap in quality has come in the last year. The May 13, 2021 for the first time breaks down the wall of 100 meters in 10 seconds: 9,95 and new Italian record. And then, race after race, he keeps improving, until he gets to that 9.80 seconds which allowed him to snatch gold at the Olympics.

A career faster than his races

Kilgore’s contention is that there is something unclear about Jacobs’ rise. The accusation is not direct, given that the runner has never been involved in a doping case, but it is underlying in several passages of the portrait. Passages that certainly do not accuse directly, but cast shadows that are always difficult to shake off.

It is not Jacobs’s fault that the history of track and field casts suspicion on sudden and immense improvement. The annals of the sport are littered with pop-up champions later revealed to be drug cheats. It would be unfair to accuse Jacobs. It would be incomplete not to acknowledge the context of his accomplishment

It is not Jacobs’ fault that the history of athletics suggests a sudden and immense improvement. The annals of the sport are littered with pop-up champions who later turned out to be drug cheaters. It would be unfair to accuse Jacobs. It would be incomplete not to recognize the context of its realization. Jacobs deserves the benefit of the doubt, but his sport doesn’t.

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